The Path Ahead
by Oxis
Summary: Sayid & Charlie go after Michael's group to 'save Walt' to try and save their friends but find themselves in a tricky situation. Can they sort their problem out, and, more importantly, can they save their friends and escape the island?[AU] If Desmond had returned to the island on his boat slightly later what would have changed? A lot.
1. Live Together, Die Alone

Charlie sat comfortably on the beachside with his guitar in his hands. It was the night after the funeral of Libby and Ana Lucia. Now, Michael was leading Jack, Sawyer, Kate and, for some reason, Hurley, to the Others' camp. Charlie would have gone, but Michael was pretty adamant he wanted nobody else to join the expedition. Charlie stepped down without much concern, but Sayid seemed suspicious.

"Charlie," Sayid grabbed Charlie's attention as he approached him on the beach. "I have reason to believe we may have a problem."

"Oh yeah?" Charlie looked confused. "What's that?"

"I think that Michael has been compromised," Sayid explained as he proceeded to sit down beside Charlie.

"What?" Charlie turned to him.

"I think that Michael has taken advantage of us," Sayid sighed. "I think he's working with the Others."

"Nah," Charlie shook his head. "Why would he do something like that?"

"I think a desperate father would do anything for his son," Sayid pointed out. "It seems to me that Michael is indeed a desperate father. I think that he is working with them."

Charlie loosened his grip on his guitar and turned his full attention to the Iraqi. "Have you told Jack about this?"

"I was going to, believe me, but it does not matter what I think unless I have a plan," Sayid replied.

"Well," Charlie paused. "If you didn't have a plan then, do you have one now?"

"Not necessarily, but, I am running out of time. I was going to go alone, but, after personal experience, I have learnt that running off in to the jungle, with a gun, alone is foolish," Sayid admitted.

"So running off in to the jungle with a gun with a friend at your side isn't?"

Sayid shrugged. "It's all we can do."

"Alright, I'll come, but, if we see they are doing alright, we just leave them be, alright?" Charlie sighed. "I don't want to get bloody accused again."

"Of course," Sayid nodded and held out a gun. "Take this, we must go now."

"Alright," Charlie stood up. "Hang on, just give me a moment."

Charlie peered over at Claire. Earlier he had given her some vaccine and she hadn't shouted at him at all- in fact, she had been quite grateful. He sighed and walked over to Aaron, who he greeted and smiled at, before turning his attention to Claire.

"Hello, Charlie," Claire said in a assertive tone. It seemed she was putting in quite an effort to remain hostile to him.

"Hey, uh..." Charlie hesitated. "I'm going off with Sayid for a while, might not be back any time soon, just wanted to say... in case... I hope the vaccine works out and stuff,"

Claire peered at him distrustfully for a moment. "Alright, Charlie," she turned her attention back to folding some clothes. "Good luck with whatever you're doing."

Charlie nodded. "Right. See you in a bit, then." He glanced back at Aaron. "Keep an eye on your Mum."

Sayid was already walking off in to the jungle by the time Charlie was done saying his goodbyes to Claire and Aaron. Running after him, Charlie checked through his bag. "Ah, Bollocks, I don't have any food.."

"I packed some just now," Sayid replied, speed-walking through the overgrowth. "That's not our primary concern right now, though. We have to make up time,"

On that cue, Charlie and Sayid began to run through the jungle. The other group were only an hour or two ahead of them, so Sayid believed that they could catch up before they reached the camp. Sayid was in a better physical condition than Charlie, so, naturally, they had to make one or two more breaks than Sayid would have preferred.

"Look," Charlie whispered after a very long time running through the jungle. In the distance he could see five figures. It was Michael's group. "What now?"

"Now, we follow them. Closely. Please..." Sayid hesitated for a second. "Try and be quiet."

"Don't worry, man," Charlie smirked. "Some people call me the stealthy shadow. I'm that sneaky."

It seemed like hours- and perhaps it was- that they followed the group for. Eventually they reached a field. Charlie could see Jack glancing around, confused. "Michael, I thought this is where we were meant to go..."

"Yeah, Mike, where the hell are we?!" Sawyer grunted, peering at Michael, who stared at the ground with a look that strangely seemed like guilt.

Without any warning, Sawyer began to flail and grab his neck before tumbling to the ground, unconscious. Sayid stared at his neck. "Sleeping dart..." he whispered to Charlie.

Kate, Hurley and Jack soon fell to the ground, too, leaving Michael stood, racked with guilt in the middle of the field. "Do you think they know we're here?" Charlie whispered.

"Yes. In fact they are probably listening to this very conversation," Sayid muttered.

"You're right about that," a gruff voice came from behind Charlie and Sayid. "Bag 'em."

Charlie and Sayid's vision disappeared as sacks were thrown over their heads. "Who are you?!" Charlie yelled. Seconds later, they were hit over the head, and they blacked out.

* * *

Claire sighed as she replaced Aaron's old nappy with a new one. She wondered where Charlie was going. She wanted to forgive him, and for things to go back to normal, but part of her said that she should just back off from him for a little longer.

She glanced up at the sea. Every now and then she liked to look out to sea in case a ship happened to go by. It was a stupid thing to do, but it kept her hope intact, and Claire realised that hope was a very dangerous thing to lose.

But, oddly, this time, she didn't see vast sea. She saw a yacht. "A boat!" She yelled, placing Aaron down in his crib and running over to the shore. "Look!" Every other survivor glanced over and ran to shore to see the boat.

"내가 밖으로 수영거야," Jin spoke to Sun in Korean as he dove in to the sea, throwing his shirt back on to the sand.

"He said that he's going to the boat," Sun explained, picking up his shirt as he grew closer to the boat. "Isn't anyone going to go with him?"

"Everyone who does that sort of stuff has gone," Claire admitted.

"Charlie and Sayid are still here, aren't they?" Sun asked.

"No, they went off in to the jungle. Charlie said he'd be a while."

"Where did they go?" Sun asked.

"I have no clue," Claire shrugged.

* * *

Sayid blinked. The back of his head was bruised from when he had been knocked out. Glancing around as his vision faded back to normal, he realised that he was in a strange room. The walls were grey and it was separated in to two by a transparent window. There was a door in the window that could be opened from the other side, and in the other side of the room there was a door leading out.

It seemed a lot like an interrogation room to Sayid. He could tell the other side of the room was for the Others, so they could come in the room and talk to Sayid without being threatened physically by him. Not that they couldn't shoot him if he came in to contact with him.

He stood up and walked over to the window. He rose up his fist and hit it hard, but it made no impact. It was definitely a cell.

"Uhh..." a groan came from the corner, Sayid glanced over to see Charlie sitting up. "Sayid? What happened?"

"I believe that we've been captured by the Others, Charlie," Sayid responded.

"Well that's bloody great," Charlie rubbed his head. "Do you reckon they have Sawyer, Hurley, Kate and Jack here too?"

"I would not be surprised if they were in the very next room. I don't see the point of shouting, though. If the Others are smart enough to make this glass wall resistant to my fist, I doubt they would allow my voice to infiltrate it."

"So, we wait?" Charlie asked.

"What other option do we have?" Sayid sighed.

* * *

Jin was gone for quite a while before he arrived on the shore in a smaller boat beside a drunken man with long hair and a bottle of whisky in his hand. "Who are you?" Sun asked.

"Name's Desmond," the man mumbled, stumbling out of the boat beside Jin. "Thanks for sending him to my boat, he was useful. Couldn't understand a word."

"그가 어디에서 왔는지 물어," Jin uttered to Sun, clearly wanting her to relay a comment to Desmond.

"Where did you come from?" Sun asked, translating Jin's statement.

"He came from here," the voice of John Locke announced. Locke came walking on to the beach, crutches in hand. "What did one snowman say to the other snowman?" Locke asked, as it was Desmond's secret code.

"Smells like carrots," Desmond chuckled, glancing up at Locke.

Locke furrowed his brow. "Desmond, why did you come back?"

"Come back, brother?" Desmond chuckled. "I didn't come back. I couldn't _leave_." Desmond sagged down beside a tent and Locke peered down at him. "There's nothing out there. This is all there is left. This bloody island!" Desmond slurred.

"Desmond, I need to ask you if you're willing to do something," Locke told the Scotsman.

"Anything, Brother," Desmond mumbled.

"Tomorrow I'm going to wait until the timer in the hatch ticks over, and see what happens."

"You're still pressing it?" Desmond grinned. "Why haven't you stopped already?"

"I did, but then someone else started pressing it for me."

"Right, ok. I'm in then, box man."


	2. The Discharge

"Dudes!" Hurley yelled, running back in to the beach camp. "Everyone!"

The survivors slowly began to flock around Hurley as he called for their attention. Rose peered at him speculatively. "Did you find Walt?"

Hurley looked down at the ground. "Uh... no... It was all a trick,"

"What do you mean?" Sun asked, bemused.

"Michael... he was working with the Others. In exchange for Walt, they took Jack, Kate and Sawyer. They sent me back here to tell everyone that nobody can go back there," Hurley explained, causing the survivors to burst in to chat amongst themselves.

"What are we going to do?" Sun asked, startled.

"Uh... I don't know. We should tell Locke. He might know what to do... where is he, anyway?" Hurley peered around the camp but couldn't see him anywhere.

"He went off with Desmond," Sun explained. "To the hatch, I think."

"Desmond? Isn't that the dude that was in the hatch when we blew it open? Didn't he run off?"

"Yes," Sun nodded. "But he's back."

Hurley shrugged. "Well, I better go and find him and Locke, then."

* * *

Sayid stared through the window. It had been several hours since he had woken up. Charlie was presently slumped in the corner, asleep, but Sayid was wide awake. He sighed, his breath clouding the glass.

Suddenly a woman appeared in the doorway holding two plates with a sandwich on each. Sayid stepped back cautiously. "Charlie..." he muttered. "Wake up."

Charlie stirred and glanced up at the tall blonde woman on the other side of the glass. "I've got sandwiches here," she said warmly, her voice carried through the glass. "If you could just go and stand by the wall so I know you can't try and escape, I'll give you them."

Sayid nodded. "I suppose things will go smoother if we comply, yes?"

"Not really," the woman replied. "The only difference it will make if you say no, is that you'll be hungry. I'm not here for my own good."

"Alright," Sayid nodded, stepping back to the wall and resting against it beside Charlie, who was still seated on the floor.

The woman hastily entered, placed the plates down and exited before disappearing out of the room. "So," Charlie stood up and yawned. "Are we going to eat them? Do you reckon they are spiked?"

"It's best to be cautious. I doubt they are poisoned, as if they had wanted to kill us, we would already be in body bags," Sayid leant forward and inspected the sandwich. "Perhaps one of us should test it, and then the other can see if it is drugged or not."

"I'm bloody hungry, I'm up for it," Charlie shrugged, taking one of the sandwiches. "If I go all loopy, don't be afraid to hit be over the head," he took a bite and nodded. "Not the worst sandwich I've ever had."

"And now, we wait," Sayid smirked.

* * *

Sun walked over to Claire's tent to see if she was awake. She had taken a nap around the time Hurley had returned to the camp, and she wanted to break the news to Claire. Luckily, it seemed like Claire had woken up a few minutes ago.

"Hey, Sun," Claire greeted her Korean friend.

"Hello, Claire," Sun smiled warmly as she looked down at Aaron, asleep in his cot. "Listen, Hurley just got back. He told us that Michael was _lying_, and that he was working with the Others. Jack, Kate and Sawyer have been captured."

Claire suddenly looked very worried. "Seriously? Did he say anything about Charlie.. or Sayid?"

"No, why?" Sun asked, curiously.

"Because they went off in to the jungle in the same direction that Michael did..." Claire hesitated.

"You don't think they went after them, do you?" Sun frowned.

"Where else would they have gone in such a hurry. Sayid practically threw a load of food in to his bag before he left. We need to get them back," Claire spoke adamantly.

"I know," Sun nodded understandingly. "But how?"

* * *

It had been a full hour since Charlie had eaten the sandwich, and he seemed perfectly normal. Sayid picked up the sandwich. "I don't think we should over-analyse this anymore," he bit in to it. "I am incredibly hungry now."

"Eat up then, mate," Charlie nodded, slumping down to the floor. "What do you think they are going to do with us?"

"By the fact they haven't already disposed of us, I would assume we have some sort of purpose," Sayid nodded. "What that purpose is, I do not know."

"More waiting then?" Charlie sighed.

"Not quite," a voice in the doorway said. "You've got work to do."

* * *

Eko sat in the seat beside the compute casually. The timer had about thirty minutes left. He sighed and twiddles his thumbs, peering at the blinking green light on the screen. It was a monotonous job, but one Eko believed was important.

Suddenly, the lights went off in the hatch. Eko glanced around. There was a noise coming from the hall. He walked out and glanced around. Whatever was causing this blackout was not inside the room with the computer.

"Sorry, Eko," Locke apologised. Eko turned to see Locke standing by the computer, Desmond beside him. Without further warning the shutters closed, leaving Eko out of the room, unable to press the button.

"John!" Eko yelled, banging on the door. "Let me in, John! This is a mistake!" Eko gritted his teeth. "John, please!"

"Eko, you have to realise that this button doesn't mean _anything_. I'm doing you a favour," John echoed through the door. "You've been wasting your time."

"No! John!" Eko thumped on the door. "Gah!" He cried, turning around and running towards the original entrance of the hatch and climbing out. When he reached the top, he spotted the door of the hatch- it had obviously been blow off... _but how_?

Eko ran as fast as he could towards the beach camp- he needed to find Charlie. Charlie would help. Eko was certain that John was dooming everyone by letting the ticker go past zero. As he ran through the jungle, he encountered Hurley. "Oh, hey Eko."

"Hugo!" Eko smiled, nodding hysterically. "Do you know how you opened the hatch?"

"Well... yeah, I was there," Hurley nodded confidently.

"How?!"

"Why?" Hurley peered at Eko suspiciously.

"That's not important now, Hugo, please!"

"Uh... dynamite." Hurley looked hassled. "We got it at this big boat,"

"Take me there, now. I need dynamite," Eko stared at Hurley in desperation.

"I left some dynamite around here," Hurley explained, waltzing off in a particular direction. Eko followed eagerly, until, eventually, Hurley delicately picked up two sticks of dynamite wrapped in cloth.

Eko sprinted through the jungle, leaving Hurley startled, standing alone in the clearing. Pacing as fast as he could, Eko arrived at the hatch with around three minutes to spare.

Hastily he set up the dynamite and placed it down. He could hear muffled voiced through the door. "Three days before you came down here, before we met, I heard a banging on the hatch doors, shouting. But it was you John, wasn't it?" A Scottish voice called out. "You say there isn't any purpose, there's no such thing as fate. But you saved my life, brother, so that I could save yours."

Locke's voice responded to the Scotsman. "No, no, no, no! None of this is real! Nothing is going to happen, we're going to be OK!"

The other man's tone changed to a faster, less worried talk. "I've gotta' go. And you've gotta' get as far away from here as possible."

"Go where?!" Locke cried out. "Stop!"

Eko, ignoring the conversation, lit the fuse and ran back in to cover.

"I'm gonna blow the dam, John!" The Scotsman announced. "I'm sorry for whatever happened that made you stop believing. But it's all real. And now I've gotta' go and make it all go away. "

"Wait! Desmond! " Locke yelled.

"I'll see ya in another life, brother!" Desmond yelled back.

For several seconds nothing happened. Eko could hear something happen below the floorboard and he could hear the fuse burn away, but it seemed the dynamite exploding and whatever else happened simultaneously. Eko didn't know what happened... but it was big.

* * *

Claire stood beside Rose with Aaron in her arms. They were speaking about something to do with the sea, which was quite irrelevant by the time the ground began to shake, the two of them looked at each other with an odd look. It was like an earthquake, but, as well as the ground shaking, the sky lit up a light shade of purple.

"What just happened?" Claire asked.

"I don't know," Rose replied. "But it was big."


	3. Earthquakes & Purple Skies

Charlie and Sayid had been working for a couple of hours now. They were in the jungle, in a deforested area. They had been instructed to clear rocks and debris from the strip- it seemed they were planning to build something, but they had not yet explained what.

"What do you think they are going to do to us?" Charlie asked quietly as he lifted a rock off to the side of the strip.

"Well, after we are done with this job," Sayid glanced around at the men who were guarding them. "I presume they will use us as either a bargaining chip or a weapon." Sayid hesitated. "Charlie, I need to know, are you ready to run?"

"What? Now? They'll shoot us," Charlie muttered.

"Not if I disarm them," Sayid replied. "Then we run in to the jungle, find our way back to camp. Ok?"

"Yeah, sure, anything you need me to do?"

"There are three of them. I will attract their attention- I will get a gun off of one of them, and then shoot the other, but I will not be quick enough to shoot the third. I need you to distract him long enough so that I can deal with him," Sayid explained.

"Alright," Charlie nodded. "Let's do this." Charlie walked over to one of the men- the one furthest from the other two. "Excuse me?"

"Hey!" The man grimaced... "Get back to work!"

"Yeah, I was just wondering, is there any way I can _join _the Others?" Charlie asked convincingly.

The man laughed. "Join us?!" He yowled. "You killed one of us! No way back for you now. We are good people, you're a bad person."

Meanwhile, Sayid fell to the ground, acting as if he had passed out from the heat and exhaustion. He would attack them by surprise. The two other men came over to him and knelt over him. "What do we do?" one man asked.

"Dunno," the other man replied. "Maybe we sh-"

Sayid twisted his legs around, knocking both men to the floor- he pressed his foot down on one man's neck, pulling the gun out of his holster and shooting the other man in the leg- he wasn't going to murder them, but he had no qualms injuring them.

Hitting both men over the head as to knock them out, Sayid removed all of their weapons and peered over at Charlie- who was being held at gunpoint.

"Drop your weapons," the man holding the gun yelled. "Or he dies!"

Sayid nodded. "Ok," he slowly dropped all of the guns.

The man laughed and walked towards Sayid, still pointing his gun at Charlie. "You scumbag," the man grinned. "I'm gonna' make your life _hell_."

"I'm afraid you won't have the opportunity," Sayid retorted, pulling out a tazer and electrocuting the man severely. The man crumpled to the floor and Sayid stepped over him, glancing at Charlie. "Now is the time we run."

"Right," Charlie nodded, following Sayid off the strip and in to the jungle.

* * *

Hurley walked over towards the hatch. About ten minutes ago, something really strange had happened. The ground had shaken and the sky had lit up purple, as well as smoke rising from the hatch's direction. Hurley peered down. The hatch was gone. Only a crater remained.

Hurley looked around the rubble for anyone- Locke, Desmond and possibly Eko had been here, and Hurley hoped that they had escaped. It was then he saw a figure arise from the rocks. "Eko?" Hurley asked.

"Hugo..." Eko was scarred and bleeding. "What... did it... do?"

"What did what do?" Hurley replied, confused.

"The button... he didn't press it. Did it have _any _effect out here?" Eko sighed.

"Dude," Hurley paused. "The ground was, like, shaking and stuff- and I'm pretty sure the sky turned bright purple for a while."

Eko grimaced. "Have you seen John, or Desmond?"

"No," Hurley replied. "I saw you first."

"Then, we better find them."

* * *

Sayid and Charlie slumped down on to a hillside. They had been running for a while now, and they needed a break. "This part of the jungle..." Sayid panted. "I have never seen it before. We must be quite far from the camp."

"Yeah, I think we would have noticed a giant Other base had it been close to us," Charlie jested.

"Good point, I suppose," Sayid nodded, standing up and walking to the top of the hill.

Charlie sipped from his bottle of water. "So, what now? We keep running? What direction?"

"Charlie..." Sayid muttered in a hushed tone. "You may want to see this,"

Charlie stood up, intrigued, and walked to the top of the hill. He could see ocean, and, beyond the ocean, he could see another island. The island he had crashed on. It seemed they were on a smaller island off it's coast, too far out to swim. "Oh," Charlie nodded. "Bollocks."

* * *

"Eko... Hurley," a voice came from behind the two, who had been searching around the hatch for a few minutes. It was Locke.

"You fool!" Eko hissed, running over to John who was holding his arm in discomfort. "You could have killed us all! You do not know what you have done! Others will bear the consequences of your decision!"

"No," Locke shook his head. "Desmond stopped it."

"What?" Eko looked angry yet bemused.

"Desmond... he went down, below the hatch, and he... turned a key, or something like that..." Locke shrugged. "I think that he sacrificed himself to save the rest of us."

"So he's dead?" Hurley asked solemnly.

"Yeah," Locke nodded. "But, you were right, Eko. I'm sorry, I should have listened to you."

"Apologise to Desmond," Eko snapped. "He is the one that died for your mistake."

"I'm not dead, brother," Desmond said from behind the group, who all turned to see a completely naked Scotsman stood in the middle of the clearing.

"Ah, man, get some clothes on!" Hurley turned away.

"I woke up here like this," Desmond replied. Locke peered at him and noticed that he had been crying for some reason. "Have any of you got any clothes?"

Locke nodded, pulling out a plain shirt and some practical trousers from his bag and handing them to Desmond, who pulled them on. "Desmond," Locke began. "What happened in there?"

"You don't wanna' know, brother," Desmond shook his head.

"Try me," Locke smirked.

"Maybe later," Desmond sighed. "I need some time to think. We should get back to the camp."

"Sure," Locke nodded.

"Let's go then," Eko gritted his teeth. "We can discuss this on another occasion, John."

"So, dude," Hurley uttered to Desmond. " Jack and the rest of the guys all got captured. The Others sent me back to stop anyone else from coming. Things are pretty bad right now."

"Nah, don't worry," Desmond shook his head. "Locke said in his speech he was going to get them."

"What speech?" Hurley replied.

"Ah..." Desmond shook his head. "Never mind, brother, I think I'm getting mixed up. The explosion must have gotten to my head."

* * *

"What are we going to do now, then?" Charlie asked, peering out at the main island.

"We have little choice," Sayid admitted. "We cannot allow them to recapture us," he sighed. "They do not seem like the most forgiving of people."

"So what do we do then?" Charlie frowned.

"Find a boat. I am sure they have some sort of transport here that we can take back to the mainland," Sayid peered down the coast. "We should just follow the beach until we find something."

"Alright. What about the rest... you know, Hurley, Kate, Sawyer and Jack?" Charlie asked.

"I do not know. It would be ignorant for just the two of us to run in there and attempt to rescue them alone. Perhaps some people at the camp would be willing to help. Eko, Locke, Desmond..." Sayid nodded. "I am sure they can all use a gun."

"Right, ok. Let's get a move on, then," Charlie walked down the hill and down the coastline, closely tracked by Sayid.

* * *

It was getting dark. Desmond was stood on the beach throwing rocks in to the ocean. Hurley, Eko and Locke had just returned from the hatch, and all the survivors were gathered around them. Locke started talking about Jack and co.'s capture, which turned in to a speech about him saving them.

Hurley stared at Desmond. He had predicted this, it seemed. "Hey, dude," Hurley exclaimed, approaching Desmond. "How did you know Locke would do a speech?"

"How did I what?" Desmond glanced at him before skimming another stone.

"You said before that Locke had done a speech, and he just _did_," Hurley explained. Eko approached the two and began to listen to the conversation.

Desmond shrugged. "Good guess I suppose."

"Seriously, dude, what happened down there that tore of your clothes and made you all weird?" Hurley demanded.

"Well, uh-" Desmond was about to explain, it seemed, but then his face went blank and he just stared off in to space.

"Desmond?" Hurley asked, wondering why he paused.

"What has happened to him?" Eko asked.

"I..." Desmond looked around cautiously. "I think I know where to go," he ran off to the kitchen.

"Uhhhh..." Hurley looked at Eko. "Where is he going?" Eko glanced at Hurley, looking equally confused, before running after Desmond. "Ok," Hurley nodded. "Good answer."

Eko approached Desmond, who was filling his bag with food and a couple of guns. "Desmond..." Eko whispered. "Desmond!" He said louder. "Where are you going?"

"I am going to find Charlie," Desmond nodded. "Now, get out my way, I don't have much time." Desmond barged away from Eko and ran off in to the jungle.

"Hurley!" Eko ran over to his large friend. "I am going with Desmond to Charlie... do not tell Locke I am gone, if he asks, just say I am getting food," Eko turned and ran away.

"Right," Hurley nodded. "Ok."


	4. The Great Escape

Sayid and Charlie had been walking for a while now, and they had not seen anything other than sand, sea and jungle- until now. Boats. Several outriggers. "Great!" Charlie smiled. "Here are some oars," he exclaimed, picking two up and passing one to Sayid.

"Fantastic," Sayid replied half-heartedly, walking forward to inspect the boat. "It looks like it is sea-worthy. We should get moving. No doubt they are still searching for us."

"You're wrong," a voice came from behind Sayid and Charlie. "We stopped searching for you a while back. You didn't even notice you were being followed." Five men walked out of the jungle and pointed guns at Sayid and Charlie. "Put down your weapons."

Sayid and Charlie took out their guns and placed them down. "And the tazer," one man said- it was clearly the man Sayid had electrocuted earlier. Sayid nodded, laying it down. The man approached him and grinned. "Remember me, you son of a bitch?" He hit Sayid with the butt of his gun and stepped back, watching the Iraqi wipe the blood from his nose.

"What are you going to do to us?" Sayid asked without a hint of fear.

"That's not up to us," one of the men said.

"But, if it were," the man who had been tazered grinned wickedly. "I'd make sure you felt pain."

"I can take pain. In fact, I built my career on endurance," Sayid retorted bitterly.

"Of course," another man laughed. "You were a torturer weren't you. You are the first man to ask about inflicting pain. So, Sayid. If you were in our position now, what would you do?"

"I'd never affiliate myself with scum like you," Sayid spat. "So I do not know what I would do."

"Let's get them back to base. I'm getting sick of his talking, now," the first man ordered. Two of the men walked over and hit Charlie and Sayid over the head, knocking them out.

* * *

"Desmond!" Eko called out, seeing the Scotsman in the distance. "Wait!"

Desmond stood still for a moment and glanced back at Eko. "I'm kinda' busy right now, brother. If you're just going to slow me down, I suggest you turn around."

"I'm here to help. Where are you going?" Eko asked, intrigued.

"The small island... the one off the coast of this island," Desmond nodded. "That's where Charlie is."

"There is another island?" Eko asked, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know all of this?"

"I'm not exactly sure. But I do," Desmond sighed. "And that's the main thing. We should get a move on. I need to get there as soon as possible."

"Ok," Eko nodded as the two of them began to run through the jungle.

* * *

"Hey, Hurley," Claire said, approaching Hugo, who was sat by his tent. "Where's Desmond?"

"Oh... uh... He... went out to hunt some boar, or something..." Hurley lied.

"Hunt boar?" Claire asked. "But he's just had an accident. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Hurley nodded not-so-confidently.

Claire peered at him. "Isn't he going to help look for Charlie, and Kate and Jack?"

"About that..." Hurley frowned. "He's not really _hunting_... he's kinda'..."

"Huh?" Claire furrowed her brow. "What's he doing, Hurley?"

"He went off in to the jungle and said that he knew where Charlie was... I don't know how. Eko went with him... he told me not to tell Locke..." Hurley shrugged. "But I guess telling you is ok."

"Thank you, Hurley," Claire nodded. "For telling me."

"Don't... do anything dumb, dude... Or else I'll get the blame," Hurley sighed.

"I won't," Claire smiled.

* * *

Sayid woke up. He lent up. He was in something that looked like an animal cage, like one you would find in a zoo, outside- it was raining. It was apparent he wasn't in a zoo both by the lack of animals and by the fact he could see the Others' facility beside him.

Glancing around, he saw Kate sitting in another cage opposite his, where Sawyer was lying down- clearly asleep.

"K...Kate... Sawyer?" Sayid muttered, sitting up. "What is going on?"

"Sayid! You're awake!" Kate exclaimed, standing up.

"Will you keep it down over there?!" Sawyer hissed.

"Sayid's awake!" Kate called to Sawyer, who jumped off of the floor and peered over at Sayid, who was standing up.

"What is going on?" Sayid repeated.

"What d'ya mean what's going on?!" Sawyer yelled. "Other than being locked in these cages and breaking rocks on some strip of land, heck, nothing!"

"You were breaking rocks too?" Sayid asked, and Kate nodded. "Where are Hurley and Jack?"

"They let Hurley go. Jack... The Others have had him in a different room the entire time. We just saw him now, though, but he couldn't see us, so he's ok..." Kate sighed. "How did you get here?"

"Charlie and I followed your group here. We were then locked in a room for a few hours, before they sent us out to do some work. Then, we escaped- but, we ran in to a problem, then they recaptured us, so here I am." Sayid paused. "Come to think of it, have you seen Charlie?"

"Nope," Sawyer answered. "What sort of problem did you have? The fact we're not on the island?"

"Precisely. However, we found some outriggers- but the Others ambushed us, and captured us," Sayid nodded.

"Anyway, like I said," Kate changed the subject. "How could you have spent so much time going around a small island?"

"What do you mean?" Sayid looked confused.

"Well, it _has _been like five days since we got captured here," Sawyer hissed.

"Five _days_?!" Sayid exclaimed. "But, when we were attacked on the beach, it had been less than one day. I have been unconscious for _four days_?"

"Well, they only put you here like an hour ago," Kate divulged.

"This is curious. We should get out of here now, and find Charlie," Sayid sighed. "Is there anyw-"

Out of nowhere, two men came walking towards the cages- one of the men looked furious. He heaved open Sawyer and Kate's cage and pointed a gun at Sawyer, holding it to his neck. Sawyer pulled the gun off him and put the gun to his head instead, but the other man put Kate at gunpoint.

The man struggled. "You let go, or I'll do her too," the man held at gunpoint by Sawyer hissed. It became apparent the man was here to kill Sawyer. Sayid rattled at his bars, but he could not escape to help.

"Don't you let go!" Kate demanded, but Sawyer shook his head. "Don't even think about it Sawyer, you fight!" she cried, but Sawyer let go, and the man dragged him out of the cage. "No! No!" Kate yowled.

"Stop this!" Sayid roared. "Let go of him!"

"Oh, so the Iraqi has finally decided to wake up, huh?" The man pointing the gun at Sawyer hissed. "Another one to witness this scumbag die. Down on your knees!" The man yelled, throwing Sawyer to the ground and pointing his gun at him.

Kate continued to cry and plead for Sawyer to be released, but it was no use. "Please! I will do _anything _you want!"

"I want you to watch!" The man demanded bitterly. Sawyer held the bars of his cage tightly and peered at Sawyer sadly.

"Close your eyes, freckles," Sawyer muttered.

"This is for Coleen, you son of a bitch," the man bit. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, his walkie talkie triggered on.

"Pick it up, damn it!" The radio called out.

The man holding the gun picked up the walkie. "I'm here, what?!"

"You anywhere near the cages?" The walkie replied.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," the man said through gritted teeth.

"Now," the radio continued. "I need you to give the walkie to Kate."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, the doctor is going to let Ben _die_," the radio continued. The noise of a beeping monitor was coming through the walkie.

"What're you talking about?!" the man roared. "What's that beeping?"

"Just give her the _damn _walkie, Danny!" the man on the radio spat. "Do it, just do it now!"

Danny- the man who was almost about to kill Sawyer, nodded slowly. "Let go of her!" He told the man who was pinning Kate against the side of the cage. He passed the radio to Kate.

"Jack?" She asked. "Jack!?"

Sayid couldn't hear what was coming through the radio, but it was clearly Jack. "Wait," Kate said. "Where are you, where are you?!" There was silence for a few moments. "Yes, yes, I remember!" Kate whimpered. "Jack... please..." More silence. "I can't leave without you... I can't."

Kate turned off the radio and hit the man behind her over the head with it- Sawyer simultaneously grabbed Danny and took the gun from his hand, kicking him in the chest and hitting him over the head.

"Let's get out of here," Sawyer sighed, running over to Sayid's cage and breaking it open. "Did you hear what Jack said?" Sawyer asked Sayid.

"I did not," Sayid shook his head.

"He said we have to run, get out of here..." Sawyer nodded.

"Ok. I will lead you to the outriggers, then," Sayid sighed, running out of his cage and towards the beach.


	5. Engineering

Sayid, Sawyer and Kate made their way through the jungle quickly, heading towards where Sayid & Charlie had found previously, however, they were stopped quickly by rustling leaves and a calling voice behind them. Sayid itched at his elbow- for some reason it was really hurting, as did his back,7 and it felt slightly bumpy.

"Wait!" someone yelled.

The three of them turned to see Alex, Rousseau's daughter, running towards them. Sawyer frowned. "What is it, sister?" he snapped. "We've got places to be."

"I... need your help," Alex frowned. "Listen, if you help me rescue my boyfriend, I will lead you to some outriggers and you can escape-"

"Thing is," Sawyer interrupted. "Good ol' Sayid here knows where the boats are already."

"We should help her," Kate suggested.

Sawyer peered at her. "If she is telling the truth, that is."

"She is," Sayid peered at her. "Let's go and get him."

"What?!" Sawyer sighed. "Why does heneed saving? 'Aint he one of you?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded solemnly. "But, Ben, he... doesn't like Karl. He locked him up in one of those bear cages."

"Karl? The cage kid?" Sawyer sounded less abrasive now. "He tried to help me out. I guess I owe him one, then."

"Ok, thank you, let's go," Alex nodded as she ran toward another building.

* * *

"Charlie, wake up..." a man with an African accent demanded. "Charlie... Charlie, can you hear me?!" Charlie blinked. He was in the jungle and Eko was stood over him. Eko had a bloody bandage wrapped around his arm and several fresh scars dotted around the rest of his body. "You are awake, finally,"

"Eko?" Charlie groaned, sitting up. His elbow ached, as did his spine. "Uh... How did I get here?"

"We broke you out last night," Eko nodded. "Me and Desmond."

"Broke me out?" Charlie sniffed. "Out of where? And where is Desmond?"

"They had you..." Eko cringed. "I will tell you later. Desmond is far from here- he is looking for Sayid. You and he were separated."

"How long have I been out for?" Charlie asked, standing up.

"At least two days, most likely three," Eko replied, reverting to his calm tone.

"Three _days_?" Charlie uttered in bemusement.

* * *

"Karl's got to be in there," Alex sighed, as the group of Sayid, Sawyer, Kate and herself approached a large building.

"What?" Sawyer spat. "You mean you ain't sure?"

Alex shrugged. "It's the only place I haven't looked."

Kate peered over by the door, where there was a guard leant against the wall. He was reading a book, occupied, but he clearly had a gun on him. "You know the guard?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Alex answered. "His name's Aldo."

"Aldo?" Sawyer huffed. "Okay, Lollipop, you want to tell me how we're going to get by him with one gun and no bullets?"

"There will always be a way," Sayid nodded. "I will wait out here while you find Karl. I do not believe for a moment that Alex is lying, however, there is a chance they know we are here, so it is best if I watch the doors."

"I've got an idea," Kate spoke up.

"Oh," Sawyer smirked. "Of course you do."

Kate began muttering something to Alex, who nodded, before walking over to Aldo. "Open the door!" She demanded, pulling Kate and Sawyer forward violently.

"Alex?" Aldo frowned, dropping his book. "What the hell are you doing?"

"They must have gotten out of their cages." Alex lied. "I caught them in the jungle. Now open up, Aldo!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Just stop!" Aldo paused, raising one hand and putting the other on his rifle. "Alex, you're not supposed to be here. If your dad finds out, he's going to kill me."

"My dad was the one who told me to bring them here -" Alex told Aldo. "- to you. Look, maybe you should call him. I'm sure he's got nothing better to do."

"Danny," Aldo said, picking up his walkie talkie and speaking in to it. "I need Ben." The radio crackled, Pickett was obviously talking but Sawyer couldn't make out what he was saying. "Listen, I've got Alex here. She's got Austen and Ford with her."

All of a sudden, Sawyer broke free of Alex's grip and knocked Aldo to the floor, picking up his rifle and directing it at his head. Alex, meanwhile, stamped on the walkie talkie, breaking it beyond function. Aldo looked up at Sawyer angrily.

"Hey now," Sawyer smirked. "Don't get mad at me just because you were dumb enough to fall for the old Wookiee prisoner gag."

"Where's Karl?" Alex asked the helpless Aldo.

Aldo shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kate sighed. "Shoot him in the knee."

Sawyer looked at Kate in surprise. "What?"

" Give me the damn rifle," Kate snapped as he grabbed the gun. "We don't have time for this. I'll do it."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Aldo submitted. "Okay, alright! He's at the end of the hall, room 23. Keys are in my back pocket."

"Damn good con, Freckles. I almost believed you were going to shoot that boy," Sawyer grinned as Kate took the keys from Aldo's pocket and followed Alex down the hall.

"It wasn't a con," she replied confidently.

"Here it is!" Alex peered at the door. Music was vibrating through it. She slid it open.

"Give it to me," Sawyer spat, grabbing the rifle off of Kate.

Inside the room they found speakers were blaring. Karl was strapped to a chair in front of a screen displaying seemingly random images like flowers, coins, keyboards, the moon, DeGroot, etc. Occasionally words were superimposed over the images. Alex removed an IV and some strange lighted glasses from Karl's head.

As Karl was removed from the devise, he slumped, passed out. Sawyer sighed, pulling him over his shoulder. "Let's go, Carlos. We get the Iraqi, and then we go to the boats, yeah?" Sawyer asked Alex in a loud voice over the music.

"Yeah, ok, let's go, quickly," she pushed the door open and they ran out of the hall towards Sayid, who had not ran in to any trouble.

"Listen," Sayid sighed. "I am going to stay here and look for Charlie. Alex will lead you to the boats."

"What?" Kate paused. "No, Sayid, come back with us, we have to go back, Jack said-"

"Jack told you and Sawyer to run, not me," Sayid nodded. "He is right, you two do have to go. But I do not. Good luck,"

"Likewise," Sawyer nodded. "Now let's get the hell off of this island."

Alex, Kate and Sawyer, who had Karl over his shoulder, ran off in to the jungle towards the outriggers. Sayid looked up at Aldo, who was still unconscious. He had plans for him.

* * *

"So, where are we?" Charlie asked Eko, sitting by the campfire. He did not recognise this part of the jungle. "We still on that little island?"

"No," Eko shook his head. "We did not find you there. We found you near here. We found a new DHARMA station," Eko explained.

"Oh really?" Charlie looked intrigued. "What was it for?" Eko glanced at Charlie's elbow. At first Charlie was confused as to why, but as he felt down his arm, he could feel several small, hard lumps. He glanced at it, before glancing back at Eko. "Eko," Charlie repeated. "_What was it for_."

Eko gritted his teeth. "Engineering ."

"Engineering? What's so bad about that?" Charlie grinned. "What were they doing in there? Customizing a hot rod?"

"No, Charlie," Eko sighed. "They were engineering _you_."

* * *

Sayid peered down at Aldo as he stirred. "Aldo, my friend," Sayid began as the Other peered up at him in surprise. Aldo was tied to a chair in a relatively empty room- Sayid had gone in an abandoned building and tied him there, he was sure he could help him find Charlie.

"Jarrah, right?" Aldo sneered, trying to break free of his bonds, but to no avail.

"You are," Sayid nodded. "Now, if you know me as well as you pretend to, then you will know one thing for certain..." Sayid paused and glared at him. "If I tie you to a chair in a low-lit room, it's not good news."

"Yeah, I know what you did," Aldo nodded. "But why do you want me? Why interrogate the cell block guard? Like I would know all the inside info."

"Granted, there is a small chance you do not know what I want you to tell me," Sayid shrugged. "But, if you do know, I will make sure you will tell me."

"Ok, what do you want to know?" Aldo grinned.

"Firstly, what did you do to me for the three days I was unconscious, and secondly, where is my friend that was captured with me?" Sayid spat.

"Oh, that," Aldo nodded. "That's an interesting story. I'm not surprised you don't remember. Such a lack of anaesthetic can be traumatizing."

Sayid furrowed his brow. "Get on with it."

"Well," Aldo began. "It all started when a couple of idiots who we captured tried to escape, but, of course, being the dim-wits they are, they ran straight back in to our arms,"

"It is not smart to insult a man who has you tied up," Sayid spat.

"It is not smart to tie up a man who warned his allies about you before he was knocked out," Aldo grinned. "They'll be here soon enough."

"Then," Sayid pulled out a small dagger that he had acquired off of John Locke. "We better make this quick."


	6. Opifex

Charlie glanced at Eko. Suddenly, he could remember everything that had happened three days ago. It was a rush of thoughts, and it hurt his head, so he had to think it through slowly...

...

_Charlie blinked. He was in a clean, white room. The last thing he remembered was being knocked out by the Others near the outriggers. He glanced around and realised that he was laid down on a hospital bed. He tried to move, but it seemed he was tied down._

_ "Oh," a shrill voice came from near Charlie._

_ Charlie glanced up and saw the face of a man. "Who are you?" Charlie asked weakly._

_ "That's not important, and, even if I told you, it wouldn't mean anything," the man replied in a clear Italian accent that was fluent in English nonetheless. His face wasn't very clear as it was covered by a hospital mask. The man took out a scalpel._

_ Suddenly, a walkie talkie near the man switched on and began to talk. "Opifex!" It called out._

_ The man, obviously called 'Opifex', though, Charlie was not familiar with that name, walked over to the radio and angrily replied. "What?!" He hissed. "What is it?! Did I not tell you some time ago that today was the day I am operating?"_

_ "I am sorry," the voice replied. "But please, please, come and help with Ben,"_

_ "I told you when you first got me here," Opifex roared. "I do not do surgery. I stay here, alone, and work on specific subjects. If you have a problem, you find someone to fix it!"_

_ "But," the voice hesitated. "Listen, we did go and find someone to fix it,"_

_ "Fantastic!" The Italian said sarcastically. "Then why are you wasting my time, Thomas?"_

_ "Because... the guy we got to help... I don't know if it was the best of ideas getting him," Tom replied over the walkie. "Ben said it was our only choice... we need you."_

_ "Gah," Opifex paused. "Who is it?"_

_ "His name is Jack Shepard, a spinal surgeon off of flight 815," Tom replied. "You know him?"_

_ "I already told you," Opifex shook his head. "I don't care about those people."_

_ "Well, you've got two of them in your surgery right now," Tom noted._

_ Opifex shrugged. "I cannot remove a tumour from a spine, Thomas," he said in a softened tone. "That is something only your friend, Jack, can do," Opifex paused again. "Tell you what, I'll get the surgery done, test them out, then I'll come over and watch over the operation. If he tries anything funny, I'll try and stitch Ben back up."_

_ "Thanks ," Tom sighed._

_ "When will surgery on Ben commence?" Opifex asked._

_ "I think in around two or three days," Tom spoke. "That's if we convince him. We've got two of them over here that we are using to sucker him up."_

_ "Alright. I think I can finish one of them today, either Jarrah or Pace." Opifex said confidently. "The other one, though... I will struggle to complete my work on him in three days."_

_ "Bring him here, then," Tom replied through the radio. "I know it's not perfect, but, Ben needs you here. He will die if Shepard won't help."_

_ "If I bring one of them two you, I will not be able to do as much as what I could here..." Opifex shook his head._

_ "Well," Tom muttered. "That will have to do. At least one of them will have all the work done, right?"_

_ "Fine," Opifex succumbed. "But I am expecting a raise for this. Which one should I bring over?"_

_ "That's a tough one..." Tom was clearly mulling over his thoughts. "On one hand, Jarrah is a dangerous, combat-trained ex-soldier, so it'd be good if we had all the alterations on him, but, on the other, Pace is maybe... a more diverse option. He has friends on the inside, nobody would suspect him."_

_ "Ok, ok," Opifex shrugged. "I agree, Jarrah seems like the obvious choice, I will bring him over. I will focus on Pace," Opifex smiled, turning back to Charlie. "I'll see you tomorrow, Thomas," he put the radio down and glanced at Charlie. "Where were we?"_

_ "Who the bloody hell are you?" Charlie groaned, trying hopelessly to break free of his bonds. "And what do you mean by 'alterations'?"_

_ "If you really want to know. I am Opifex. Of course, that is not my real name. In case you didn't know, and I assume you don't, Opifex is Latin," Opifex nodded._

_ "Latin for what?" Charlie spat._

_ "Well," Opifex continued. "Manufacturer. Engineer, per se."_

_ "An Engineer? I'm quaking in my bloody boots," Charlie smirked. "What are you going to do? Beat me to death with a spanner?"_

_ "That would be highly entertaining," Opifex nodded. "But, no. Alas, I am not the sort of Engineer that uses spanners."_

_ "Yeah, I've gathered that by the fact we're in a hospital room and you've got a scalpel," Charlie cringed. "What are you going to do? If you're planning on kill me, why haven't you done it already?"_

_ "Oh, we don't want to kill you, just now," Opifex said in a less than reassuring tone. "Though, the operation... I haven't exactly tested it properly. You may well die, but, do know, it is not my intention-"_

_ "What are you doing to me?" Charlie asked in horror, glaring at the knives on the table beside him, wishing he could grab one, but they were too far out of reach._

_ "Like I said earlier, just a few... alterations. Nothing to be afraid of," Opifex grinned under his mask. "Now, you're going to have to go to sleep."_

_ "No!" Charlie roared as Opifex placed a mask over his face- he breathed in, and slowly became drowsy. "No... stop..." Charlie uttered as he drifted off to sleep. "Let me... go..."_

...

...Charlie blinked. He had remembered everything that had happened three days ago- and Opifex... what sort of a stupid bloody name is that? He had no clue what Opifex had done to him, but whatever it was, he didn't imagine it was good. "We should get going," Charlie said to Eko, who nodded.

* * *

Sayid stood over the man in the chair, who grinned wickedly. "What did you_ do_ to me?" Sayid snapped, leaning down and glaring in to Aldo's eyes with anger.

"Oh, you really want to know?" Aldo nodded. "Well, it's quite funny really..."

"Get on with it," Sayid raised his fist, and suddenly Aldo became a lot more compliant.

"Okay, okay, don't get all _violent _on me..." Aldo shrugged. "Well, he just altered one or two bits and bobs inside you. You know?"

"What? Who?" Sayid paused for a moment, and suddenly, a flush of memories came in to his head...

...

_Sayid breathed in deeply, opening his eyes. He was in a dark, damp room... it looked very similar to the one he had been locked in when he was first captured by the Others. He glanced around to see a man at the other side of the room in a doctor's outfit._

_ "Where am I?!" Sayid demanded. He remembered that the Others had just recaptured him. "And who are you?!"_

_ "My name is irrelevant," the man turned around. He spoke in an Italian accent."I did not mean for you to wake up. Luckily, I have kept you asleep for over a day now... too bad that you had to wake up just before I am going to put you back to sleep."_

_ "Back to sleep for what?..." Sayid hissed._

_ "Just an operation," the Italian nodded. "Don't worry... just minor surgery," the Italian held up a mask and pressed in to Sayid's mouth._

_ Sayid felt immensely tired all of a sudden. It was clear the mask was full of a gas that was making him drowsy. "Who are you?!" Sayid rambled. "Where... am I? Where... is... Charlie? What...wha...wh..."_

_..._

..."Hey, are you just going to stare or that wall or are you going to talk to me?" Aldo laughed. Sayid snapped out of his flashback.

Sayid glared at him. "What did he do to me?"

"Not a lot. Not as much as he'd like to have done... but, to answer another question, your friend, Charlie, we let him go..." Aldo nodded. "I don't believe we did any work on him."

"I don't believe y-" Sayid began, before the door swung open.

"Sayid?" Desmond asked.

"Desmond?" Sayid turned to Desmond and peered at him. "How did you know I was here?"

"Long story, brother," the Scotsman nodded. "But we have to get out of here. Now."

"Why is that, Desmond?" Sayid peered at him. "I have things under control."

"No," Desmond shook his head. "There are Hostiles on the way right now..."

"Hostiles?" Sayid looked confused. "You mean the Others?"

"Yeah, whatever," Desmond ran out the door. "Come on, follow me... I know where Charlie is!"

"You do?" Sayid nodded. "Fine..." he ran out the door and chased after Desmond.


	7. NON STORY UPDATE

**NON STORY UPDATE**

___Sorry about the hiatus, life got in the way. Anyone still interested in this story?_


	8. Rendezvous

"Here," Desmond pointed to a glade in the woods, guiding Sayid to it. "Eko said he'd meet me here, with Charlie." Desmond frowned and glanced around, paranoid thoughts running through his brain. He scratched his head and paced around in the mud whilst Sayid peered at him.

"Refresh my memory, Desmond," Sayid spoke out assertively. "How did you find me there."

Desmond grunted and looked down at the ground. "I told you," he hissed. "It's a long story."

"Well, by the looks of it," Sayid peered off in to the woodland. "We've got time. So, please, indulge me with this story of yours."

Desmond hesitated and stopped pacing before slowly nodding. "Fine," Desmond moved his head in an odd way, clearly finding it hard to choose the correct words. "Well, earlier, back at the camp, I had... I dunno'... a sort of a vision."

"A _vision_?" Sayid repeated.

"Yeah, I know," Desmond sat down on a log and put his head in his hands. "I don't understand how, but, the vision, it told me where Charlie was. In the vision... this guy, in a lab coat, got a syringe and used it on Charlie, then he started flailing around... and, and then, the man grabbed him and dragged him outside of this building, a DHARMA station, and threw him on the floor."

"So you went to this station and found him there? How did you know where the building was?" Sayid asked.

"No. We found him inside the building- we had to break him out, me an' Eko. I think... that, in the vision, Charlie died, and, that, me and Eko breaking him out, you know, saved him." Desmond shrugged. "I knew where the building was because I'd seen that part of the island before, but I didn't know there was a DHARMA station there."

Sayid exhaled. "That is very odd. But it does not answer my question- how did you find _me_? You didn't have a vision of my death, did you?"

"No," Desmond smirked. "It was Charlie again. In my vision... I saw hostiles-"

"Others?" Sayid asked.

"Yeah, I saw others, and, they attacked me and Eko and took Charlie... in my vision, they brought him back to the little island you were on and, on the way back, they saw you. That's when my vision ended." Desmond looked frustrated."I know it makes no sense, but, it's no coincidence, surely."

"No, no," Sayid nodded. "I think what you are experiencing is genuine, only, we cannot define why it is hap-"

"Desmond," a voice came from behind Sayid, and Eko appeared, Charlie behind him. "You found Sayid, I see."

Desmond raised his hand to greet Charlie and Eko. "Yeah, he seems fine."

"I am fine, but I would like to know what has been done to me. The man who guarded one of the bases over on the island, I questioned him, he said they modified me..." Sayid gritted his teeth. "Do you happen to know in what way?"

"Nope," Charlie frowned. "But something tells me it wasn't a colonoscopy."

"Then I will find out," Sayid said.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Eko asked Sayid as the Iraqi turned to walk away.

Sayid glanced back at him with one sharp look. "The only way I know," he muttered. "With force." Sayid continued walking away until he was out of sight.

"I think someone should go with him," Charlie suggested. "Personally I have a bit of cramp, so..."

"You're right," Eko nodded. "I will go with him," Eko turned and ran after Sayid in a flash.

"Now what?" Charlie asked Desmond, who was staring off in to space. "Desmond?" Charlie held out his hand and waved at Desmond. Suddenly, Desmond tackled Charlie to the floor. "What the hell are you doing you _maniac_?" Charlie hissed.

"Sorry," Desmond shook his head and stood up, glancing back at boar that had sprinted by. "I don't know what came over me."


End file.
